Multidisciplinary analysis of financial reference points and wellbeing. The aim is to find how to improve financial decisions (i) during unexpected economic shocks, and (ii) by the socially disadvantaged. The project will produce the first large-scale evidence on heterogeneity in benchmarks (reference points) against which people evaluate financial alternatives and the role of such benchmarks in financial risk-taking and in creating and perpetuating economic inequality. The expected outcomes inc ....Multidisciplinary analysis of financial reference points and wellbeing. The aim is to find how to improve financial decisions (i) during unexpected economic shocks, and (ii) by the socially disadvantaged. The project will produce the first large-scale evidence on heterogeneity in benchmarks (reference points) against which people evaluate financial alternatives and the role of such benchmarks in financial risk-taking and in creating and perpetuating economic inequality. The expected outcomes include transformed interdisciplinary understanding of financial decisions and significantly greater capacity for multidisciplinary collaboration. The findings will inform policy on promoting financial wellbeing and to mitigate the devastating effects of sudden economic shocks such as that of COVID-19.Read moreRead less
Retirement asset decumulation: Adequacy, institutions and products. This proposal seeks to evaluate the present and future adequacy of retirement provision, and offers alternative, practical solutions to the problem of how to maximise the value of a retiree's accumulated assets and facilitate a financially secure retirement. First, a re-evaluation of the replacement rate as a measure of retirement provision adequacy will be undertaken. Second, the efficacy of new financial products and instituti ....Retirement asset decumulation: Adequacy, institutions and products. This proposal seeks to evaluate the present and future adequacy of retirement provision, and offers alternative, practical solutions to the problem of how to maximise the value of a retiree's accumulated assets and facilitate a financially secure retirement. First, a re-evaluation of the replacement rate as a measure of retirement provision adequacy will be undertaken. Second, the efficacy of new financial products and institutions designed to enhance the value of a retirement accumulation for retirement consumption will be analysed. Global trends towards population aging and increasing reliance on self-provision for retirement lends both urgency and significance to the proposed research.Read moreRead less
Improving Choice Models: Multiple Goal Pursuit and Multi-Stage Decision Processes. This project aims to develop new econometric models of choice behaviour that recognise individuals adopt “how to decide” strategies when choosing between alternatives. Existing models simplistically assume that people evaluate all goods and choose the best of them, when in fact they ignore some goods, select what information is relevant, pursue multiple goals, and otherwise deviate from the assumptions commonly ma ....Improving Choice Models: Multiple Goal Pursuit and Multi-Stage Decision Processes. This project aims to develop new econometric models of choice behaviour that recognise individuals adopt “how to decide” strategies when choosing between alternatives. Existing models simplistically assume that people evaluate all goods and choose the best of them, when in fact they ignore some goods, select what information is relevant, pursue multiple goals, and otherwise deviate from the assumptions commonly made in econometric models. Filling in this significant gap in the choice modelling literature constitutes a significant contribution to improving our understanding of human decision making and policy analysis in every area of human endeavour.Read moreRead less
Transitioning to a water-secure future in the Basin. Increased water scarcity threatens the viability of the Murray-Darling Basin. There has been little analysis conducted of the consequences of water market impediments. The economic dimensions of trade impediments, water management, water market intervention and the net social benefits of water markets are at the core of this project. In particular, this project aims to explore: the impact of impediments and policy in water markets; how further ....Transitioning to a water-secure future in the Basin. Increased water scarcity threatens the viability of the Murray-Darling Basin. There has been little analysis conducted of the consequences of water market impediments. The economic dimensions of trade impediments, water management, water market intervention and the net social benefits of water markets are at the core of this project. In particular, this project aims to explore: the impact of impediments and policy in water markets; how further water market products may increase water market efficiency; and, the nature and sources of transactions costs in markets. Benefits from this project will enhance resilience and adaptation of irrigators to future climate change and water shortages, as well as providing future policy guidance.Read moreRead less
An Investigation of Chronic and Transitory Poverty in Australia in the Twenty-First Century. People in chronic poverty are unlikely to lead 'healthy, productive or fulfilling' lives. Their unrealized productive and creative potential is a loss to society as well as to the individuals themselves. The information about the intensity of chronic and transitory poverty in Australia that is generated by this project will enable government and charitable institutions to better allocate the substantial ....An Investigation of Chronic and Transitory Poverty in Australia in the Twenty-First Century. People in chronic poverty are unlikely to lead 'healthy, productive or fulfilling' lives. Their unrealized productive and creative potential is a loss to society as well as to the individuals themselves. The information about the intensity of chronic and transitory poverty in Australia that is generated by this project will enable government and charitable institutions to better allocate the substantial resources that they invest annually in programs to assist economically disadvantaged people. The project also has a training function: to develop the research capacity of a postgraduate student who will write a thesis on chronic poverty among children. Read moreRead less
Accounting for preference seperability in stated choice experiments. This project aims to unite three separate streams of applied economic research into a single framework in order to develop a micro-economically consistent framework for demand forecasting and analysis. Forecasting demand to improve product performance or policy impacts requires realistic representations of how humans actually make choices. Combining theories of preference separability with recent developments in both activity a ....Accounting for preference seperability in stated choice experiments. This project aims to unite three separate streams of applied economic research into a single framework in order to develop a micro-economically consistent framework for demand forecasting and analysis. Forecasting demand to improve product performance or policy impacts requires realistic representations of how humans actually make choices. Combining theories of preference separability with recent developments in both activity and time use modelling and stated choice techniques, the project plans to develop new insights into consumer equilibrium as well as new econometric methods to test for the assumption of preference separability. Project outcomes would lead to an improved understanding of consumer behaviour as well as demand forecasting, with benefits to studies involving the need for benefit cost comparisons.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101319
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,857.00
Summary
Building a carbon neutral future for Australian agriculture . The aim of this research is to design an economically sound policy strategy for making the Australian agriculture sector carbon neutral by 2040. This strategy will provide policy makers with a menu of policy packages to improve the sector’s international competitiveness, in the context of growing demands from consumers and international markets for low emission products while meeting the challenges of a changing climate. To assist in ....Building a carbon neutral future for Australian agriculture . The aim of this research is to design an economically sound policy strategy for making the Australian agriculture sector carbon neutral by 2040. This strategy will provide policy makers with a menu of policy packages to improve the sector’s international competitiveness, in the context of growing demands from consumers and international markets for low emission products while meeting the challenges of a changing climate. To assist in developing this strategic knowledge a national-scale quantitative economic model will be developed. Given the absence of a clear national strategy for agricultural GHG emissions and the growing global urgency addressing climate change, this research fills an important gap and comes at an opportune time. Read moreRead less
The rate of time preference in choice experiments: A systematic re-analysis. This project intends to re-analyse data from over 20 years of past research to understand when and why people sometimes make short-sighted choices. Time preference is a core concept in both theoretical and applied economics and a key input in public policy, yet empirical understanding of it is poor. Almost all important decisions of households, businesses and government involve benefits and costs that unfold over time. ....The rate of time preference in choice experiments: A systematic re-analysis. This project intends to re-analyse data from over 20 years of past research to understand when and why people sometimes make short-sighted choices. Time preference is a core concept in both theoretical and applied economics and a key input in public policy, yet empirical understanding of it is poor. Almost all important decisions of households, businesses and government involve benefits and costs that unfold over time. Many economists have used decision-making experiments to study how people value the future and make trade-offs over time, but these have not reached any clear consensus. This project plans to systematically re-analyse primary data using state-of-the-art estimation techniques to generate new estimates of the discount rate for each study. These will then be analysed in a meta-regression analysis to identify the factors that cause discount rates to vary between studies.Read moreRead less
Human-capital acquisition, technological improvement and product-market competition: theory and evidence. Japan has achieved its economic growth at a remarkable pace in the postwar period, and has become one of Australia's most important trade partners. This project is expected to benefit the Australian business community and governmental institutions by offering systematic investigations, both theoretically and empirically, on the recent transition taking place in the Japanese economy from prev ....Human-capital acquisition, technological improvement and product-market competition: theory and evidence. Japan has achieved its economic growth at a remarkable pace in the postwar period, and has become one of Australia's most important trade partners. This project is expected to benefit the Australian business community and governmental institutions by offering systematic investigations, both theoretically and empirically, on the recent transition taking place in the Japanese economy from previously unexplored perspectives by capturing interconnections among employment/labour market practices, product-market competition, and government-business relationships. It is envisaged that Australian industries and government could gain useful information from this project for effective formulation of their international trade strategies and policies.Read moreRead less
Insecure Work and the Mental Health of Workers and their Families. This project aims to explore the relationship between insecure work and mental health by applying advanced econometric methods to large survey and administrative datasets, and newly collected survey data. This project expects to provide causal policy-relevant estimates of how insecure work is affecting the wellbeing of workers and their families, and for whom the effects are most harmful. It also expects to inform on how poor men ....Insecure Work and the Mental Health of Workers and their Families. This project aims to explore the relationship between insecure work and mental health by applying advanced econometric methods to large survey and administrative datasets, and newly collected survey data. This project expects to provide causal policy-relevant estimates of how insecure work is affecting the wellbeing of workers and their families, and for whom the effects are most harmful. It also expects to inform on how poor mental health influences the types of jobs that people enter into. This should provide significant benefits, including evidence needed to improve existing workplace and employment programs, and evidence ensuring that assistance is efficiently targeted to those workers and industries with the greatest need.Read moreRead less